Remote control devices for electronic appliances

Abstract: A remote control device for an electronic appliance includes a plurality of channel number inputting keys (7) for inputting a channel number and a further key (6) different from the plurality of channel number inputting keys (7). When the further key (6) was operated, a CPU (22) determines whether any one of the plurality of channel number inputting keys (7) was operated directly before the further key (6) was operated. If so, the CPU (22) sends the electronic appliance a first remote control code related to channel selection. If not, the CPU (22) sends the electronic appliance a second remote control code which controls a function different from the channel selection. In this case, the sole key fulfills the two functions to reduce the number of keys.

Description: The present invention relates to remote control devices for controlling domestic electronic appliances remotely. Recently, a remote control device is annexed to an electronic appliance such as a television set or a video tape recorder. The user is capable of using such remote control device for controlling the functions of the electronic appliance from far away. A cable television set used in the Northern American district has many channels, for example, scores of channels. Thus, a remote control device used to control such television set has a key-in unit which includes keys numbered "0"-"9" to key in numeral data "0"-"9" to designate a channel and an enter key which is used to designate the end of keying-in a channel number after the channel number is keyed in one figure by one figure. For example, in order to designate a channel "2" which is a number of one figure, a key numbered "2" and the enter key are required to be operated in this order. In order to designate a channel numbered "25", the keys numbered "2" and "5" and the enter key are required to be operated in this order. However, the respective keys for designating those channels perform only a sole control function. Thus, the number of keys is large and the whole device is large-scaled, disadvantageously. Another remote control device has a key "10+" to key in data on a numeral at the place of "10" in addition to the keys numbered "0"-"9" to key in a channel number of two figures. For example, when a channel "12" is desired to be selected, the keys "10+" and the key "2" are required to be operated in this order to thereby convert "10+" and "2" to corresponding remote control codes, which are then sent sequentially. Those sent remote control codes are received by an television set at a receiving end to thereby select the channel "12". In this remote control device, the key "10+" is required to be provided to thereby increase the number of keys and hence render the whole remote control device large-scaled. In order that data on any one of 20-29, 30-39 and 40-49 channels may be keyed in, further keys "20+", "30+", and "40+" are required to be provided and hence the whole remote control device would be large-scaled. From US-A-5 020 139 a remote control device for an electronic appliance is known, comprising a plurality of channel number inputting keys for inputting a channel number to the remote control device, time measuring means for measuring the time elapsing during the operation of any one of said plurality of channel number inputting keys, determining means for determining the elapsed time measured by said time measuring means, has not arrived at a given time, and remote control code sending control means for sending the electronic appliance remote control code to select a predetermined channel when said determining means determines that the elapsed time has not arrived at the given time and for sending for electronic appliance remote control code to select a channel different from the predetermined channel when said determining means determines that the elapsed time has exceeded at the given time. Thus, the determining means distinguishes whether a two-digit or a three-digit channel number is inputted from the different duration of the operating times of the keys. Thus, if the operator is not acquainted with the necessary timing, operation of the input keys may result in the selection of an undesired channel. It is the object of the present invention to provide a small-sized remote control device which reduces the number of keys which key in numerical data and which is easy to handle. This object is attained by the features of claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are subject matter of the dependent claims. According to the present invention, the further key which is operated after a channel number inputting key was operated to send the electronic appliance remote control code to select a channel can be used to send the electronic appliance the remote control code to control the function different from the selection of the channel when no original function of the further key is required, so that the number of keys of the remote control device is reduced to thereby achieve reduction of the size of the remote control device. The invention is now further explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wrist watch to which remote control device of the present invention is applied; FIG. 2 is a block diagram indicative of the circuit structure of the wrist watch of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a flowchart indicative of a remote control process performed by a CPU of FIG. 2; and FIG. 4 a flowchart indicative of the operation of a remote control device as a modification of the embodiment; Structure: FIG. 1 shows a wrist watch 1 to which a remote control device of a first embodiment of the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, the wrist watch 1 has in an upper surface of a case 2 a power key 3 which turns on/off a power supply for an electronic appliance at a receiving end, a volume up key 4 and a volume down key 5 for volume adjustment, a channel enter key 6 which selects a television channel, a channel number key subunit 7 which includes ten channel number keys numbered "1", "2", "3",..."9", "0" for designation of a television channel No., an LED (Light Emitting Device) 8 which emits light on various remote control signals and a display 9 composed of a liquid crystal display panel for display of the time 9a and the contents of a remote control operation 9b. The remote control operation key group of this embodiment uses the specifications of a remote control device for a cable television set used in the Northern American district. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the system of the wrist watch 1 of FIG. 1. The same element is identified by the same reference numeral in FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 2, the wrist watch 1 includes an input unit 21, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 23, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 24, an oscillator 25, a frequency divider 26, a time counter 27, a date counter 28, a display driver 29, the display 9, a transmitter 30 and the LED 8. The input unit 21 is composed of the power key 3, volume up key 4, volume down key 5, channel enter key 6, channel number key subunit 7 of FIG. 1. Various remote control command signals produced by the respective keys are output to the CPU 22. The CPU 22 controls the respective elements of the wrist watch 1 in accordance with various control programs stored in the ROM 23. More specifically, the CPU performs the timekeeping and displaying processes, outputs time and date data from the time counter 27 and date counter 28 through the display driver 29 to the display 11 for displaying purposes. The CPU also performs remote control processes in accordance with various remote control command signals from the input unit 21, outputs various remote control data to the transmitter 30 to cause the LED 8 to emit light on remote control signals. In the remote control process to be described later in more detail, the CPU 22 waits for a lapse of a given time after a key of the channel number key subunit 7 was operated and then selects direct transmission of the keyed-in channel number or transmission of a channel number determined by the channel enter key. The ROM 23 stores a timekeeping process program, a displaying process program and a remote control process program executed by the CPU 22 and remote control code data corresponding to the contents of the various operations to control electronic appliances such as a television set and a video tape recorder remotely. As shown in FIG. 2, the RAM 24 includes a display register 24a which stores displayed data, a time counting register 24b which stores time data, a number storage register 24c which stores channel number data based on the operation of a channel number key, and a constant time counting register 24d which stores data on a given period of time to be measured in the remote control process. Time counter 27 counts time data on a hour, minute and second of the current time on the basis of a pulse signal of a constant cycle fed through the frequency divider 26 from the oscillator 25, and outputs the time data to the CPU 22 and to the date counter 28. The date counter 28 counts date data on a month, date and day of the week on the basis of the time data fed from the time counter 27, and outputs the date data to the CPU 22. The display driver 29 drives the display 9 on the basis of displayed data processed and fed by the CPU 22 in accordance with the keying-in operation of the input unit 21 to display the time 9a and the contents of the remote control operation 9b, as shown in FIG. 1. The transmitter 30 modulates and amplifies in an infrared wavelength remote control data read and supplied by the CPU 22 from the ROM 23 in accordance with a keyed-in signal from the input unit 21 and emits infrared rays on the resulting data from the LED 8. Operation: In the regular main process performed by the CPU 22 in the wrist watch 1 of this embodiment, the timekeeping operations of the time counter 27 and date counter 28 are performed and the time and date data produced sequentially from the time and date counters 27 and 28 are stored in the time counting register 24b of the RAM 24, and output through the display driver 29 to the display 9 to thereby display the time. When the user operates a key of the key-in unit 21 in the main process, the CPU 22 starts the remote control process as an interrupt to the main process in accordance with a flowchart of FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, the CPU 22 first determines whether a channel number key has been operated (step S1). If so, the CPU stores the resulting channel number data in the number storage register 24c of the RAM 24 (step S2). If not, the CPU performs processes at steps S7 and S8 steps. The CPU 22 determines whether a given time has elapsed on the basis of time data preset in the constant time counting register 24d of the ROM 24 (step S3). If so, the CPU outputs to the transmitter 30 remote control data corresponding to the channel number stored in the number storage register 24c at step S2 to thereby cause the LED 8 to emit light on the remote control code data (step S4) and ends this process. If not at step S3, the CPU 22 determines whether the channel enter key 6 has been operated (step S5). If not, control returns to step S3. If the channel enter key 6 has been operated, the CPU outputs to the transmitter 30 remote control data corresponding to the channel number data stored in the number storage register 24c at step S2 to cause the LED 8 to emit light on the remote control data (step S6) and ends this process. If no channel number key is operated at step S1, the CPU 22 determines whether the channel enter key 6 has been operated (step S7). If not, the CPU performs a different process (step S9). If the channel enter key 6 has been operated, the CPU outputs to the transmitter 30 remote control data for selecting and displaying the output of a video tape recorder connected to the television set at the receiving end to thereby cause the LED 8 to emit light on the remote control data (step S8) and ends this process. As described above, in the remote control process of this embodiment, if the channel enter key 6 is operated after a channel number key was operated or if no keyed-in data is produced several seconds after a channel number key was operated, the channel number code is delivered to the television set or video tape recorder to change the channel. In the present embodiment, if the channel enter key 6 is operated after a channel number key was operated, the channel switching code is sent to the television set. If the channel enter key 6 is operated without any other keys being operated beforehand, a code which selects and displays the output of the video tape recorder connected to the television set at the receiving end is sent to the video tape recorder. That is, the contents of the remote control for one key are selected automatically in dependence on whether particular keyed-in data is generated beforehand. Therefore, there is no need for taking the trouble to provide a key to switch between the television set and the video tape recorder to thereby reduce the number of keys of the remote control device and hence its cost. While in the present embodiment the application of the inventive remote control device to the wrist watch has been described and illustrated, the present invention is not limited to this particular case. The inventive remote control device is applicable to conventional learning remote control devices to reduce the number of keys used in the learning control devices. [Modification]: A modification of the first embodiment has an appearance and a circuit structure similar to those of FIGS. 1 and 2 and further description and illustrations thereof will be omitted. Operation: In FIG. 4, first, in order to input a channel number, the CPU determines whether the corresponding channel number key has been operated (step A1). If so, the CPU sends the electronic appliance a remote control code indicative of the operated channel number key (step A2). The CPU then sets "1" in a flag register F which stores the sent remote control code (step A3). Control then returns to step A1. If not at step A1, control passes to step A4, where the CPU determines whether the channel enter key 6 has been operated. If so, the CPU determines whether "1" has been stored in the flag register F or whether the channel number key is the last operated one and a given time has elapsed since the last operation of the channel number key (step A5). If the CPU determines that (1) "1" is stored in the flag register F, (2) the last operated key is the channel number key and (3) the given time has not elapsed since the last operation of the channel number key, the CPU sends the television set at the receiving end a channel enter code indicative of the end of the sending of the channel number through the transmitter (step A6). When the television set receives the channel enter code, it selects a channel indicated by the channel number code received so far. In more detail, after the television set receives a code "2" and then the channel enter code, it switches the channel to a channel "2". If the television set receives "2", "5" and then the channel enter code, it switches the channel to a channel "25". When at step A4 the flag register F is not "1", or the last operated key is not a channel number key or when the last operated key is a channel number key and the given time has elapsed since the last operation of the channel number key, the CPU sends a remote control code to switch between the television output and the video tape recorder output and displays the selected one (step A7). Control then returns to step A1. When the CPU determines at step A4 that the channel enter key 6 has not been operated, control passes to step A8 where the CPU determines whether a different key has been operated. If so, control passes to step A9, where the CPU determines whether "1" is set in the flag register F. If so, control passes to step A10, where the CPU sends a channel enter code, sets the flag register F at "0" (step A11) and then performs a different key-in process (step A12). When the CPU determines at step A8 that no different key has been operated, control passes to step A13, where the CPU determines whether "1" is set in the flag register F. If so, control passes to step A14, where the CPU determines whether the given time has elapsed since the last operation of the channel number key. If so, the CPU sends the electronic appliance a channel enter code (step A15), and sets "0" in the flag register F (step A16). Control then returns to step S11. As described above, in the remote control process of this modification, if the channel enter key 6 is operated after a channel number key was operated to input a channel number, or if there is no keyed-in data after the operation of the channel number key, the CPU sends the electronic appliance the channel enter code. When the television set receives the channel enter code, it selects a channel in accordance with a numerical code indicative of the received channel number before the reception of the channel enter code.

Claims: A remote control device for an electronic appliance, comprising: a plurality of channel number inputting keys (7) for inputting a channel number to the remote control device; channel number code sending means (FIG. 4, step A2), responsive to any one of said plurality of channel number inputting keys being operated, for sending a channel number code corresponding to the operated channel number inputting key; an end code sending key (6); end code sending means (FIG. 4, step A6), responsive to operation of said end code sending key, for sending an end code which represents that said channel number code sending means has finished sending the channel number code; and a further key (3, 4, 5) different from said plurality of channel number inputting keys and said end code sending key, said further key corresponding to a function, characterised by determining means (FIG. 4, A8, A9), responsive to operation of said further key, for determining whether any one of the plurality of channel number inputting keys was operated to send the corresponding channel number code, directly before said further key has been operated (FIG. 4, A8, A9); control means (FIG. 4, A10), responsive to said determining means determining that one of said plurality of channel number inputting keys was operated directly before said further key has been operated, for controlling said end code sending means to send the end code for channel selection; and function executing means (FIG. 4, A12) for executing the function corresponding to said further key after said control means has controlled said end code sending means to send the end code. A remote control device to claim 1, further comprising: means (FIG. A13, A14, A15), responsive to said further key and said end code sending key being not operated within a given time after any one of said plurality of channel number inputting keys was operated, for controlling said end code sending key to send the end code. A remote control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said determining means comprises storage means (F), responsive to one of said plurality of channel number inputting keys being operated, for storing this fact, and also, responsive to said further key being operated, for being cleared. A remote control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said remote control code sending control means (22, steps S6, S8; A6, A7) sends a remote control code, using infrared rays. A remote control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: display means (9b) for displaying a remote control code sent by said remote control code sending control means (22, steps S6, S8; A6, A7). A remote control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: timekeeping means (27) for measuring the current time; and current time display means (9a) for displaying the current time. A remote control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising a case (2) to which a band is attached for wearing said remote control device on a wrist, said case enclosing respective elements of said remote control device therein.

Inventors: MATSUZAWA KOUICHI, YONEKURA TAKAOMI, MATSUZAWA, KOUICHI, YONEKURA, TAKAOMI, MATSUZAWA, KOUICHI, C/O CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.,, YONEKURA, TAKAOMI, C/O CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.,
Applicants: CASIO COMPUTER CO LTD, CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.
Application year: 1994
Main classification: H03J1
IPC codes: H03J1, H04N5